ANAHEIM, Calif. – Before the 15-37 Astros arrived in Denver on Wednesday for the start of a six-game cross-country road trip, first-year manager Bo Porter’s rebuilding club was associated far more with embarrassment and 100-plus loss projections than good baseball, tight victories and series sweeps.

By the time the confident, joyous Astros exited Angel Stadium for a cross-country flight back to Houston, the hottest team in Major League Baseball had collected its sixth consecutive victory, swept the lost Angels during a hard-fought four-game series and recorded their most successful road trip in 14 seasons.

The Astros played another tense, unpredictable one Monday. Just like the previous five, they won it, edging Los Angeles 2-1 during a contest that saw the Astros strike out 12 times and only collect three hits, but employ strong starting pitching, smooth defense and smart situational hitting to again knock off their reeling American League West rival.

The Astros (21-37) are 7-3 against the Angels (25-33) this season. The latest win marked the club’s best road trip since a 7-0 mark Sept. 3-9, 1999, and it forced Los Angeles to hold a postgame team meeting.

The Astros held their own private conference May 5 after being swept at home by Detroit. But for the first time this season, a team not expected to even be competitive until 2015 has thrown off its “rebuilding” warning sign and consistently proven it can play better ball than almost anyone not wearing an Astros uniform imagined when spring training began.

“These guys are my second family. I’m with these guys more than I’m with my family from home. We take pride in picking each other up and doing things for each other,” said 27-year-old rookie Brandon Barnes, who captures the Astros’ spirit and self-belief better than any player on the team.

The Astros are 11-7 after starting the year 10-30. Everyone from 34-year-old lefthander Erik Bedard to 32-year-old closer Jose Veras have played critical roles during the streak. And the Astros aren’t just picking up cheap wins – they’re earning them. During the club’s last 18 contests, 13 have been decided by two runs or less. During the 6-0 road trip, the Astros won by a combined 12 runs and four of the six wins were by two runs or less. Monday was another that took nine full innings to decide. The Astros made all the frames count and didn’t back down.

“This is great. I’ve always said that when you win with this type of dynamic, it feels like nothing else in the world,” said designated hitter Carlos Pena, one of the few veterans on the youngest team in MLB. “Because it feels like you build from the bottom up from scratch. So it’s really rewarding when you win a ballgame. I’m not even talking about winning the World Series or anything. I’m talking about winning today.

“It feels good because we know we’re coming from the (floor). We’re under. We scratched for it. Sweat, tears, blood – we won. So it’s really satisfying to come out victorious at the end. It’s fun. It really is fun.”

It was also good, fast, National League-style baseball in an AL matchup. The Astros outplayed, outhustled and outfought the Angels for four consecutive games. They did the same during two confident victories at Colorado.

A still upside down 21-37 record makes it impossible to currently say the Astros have turned their season around, as do other realities facing the club. But May 15 marked a step forward, when the Astros outlasted Detroit for a 7-5 road victory that ended with Barnes catching Miguel Cabrera’s near walk-off grand slam at the warning track. Since then, Porter’s squad has paid off on the joyous enthusiasm it displayed during spring training and the MLB-worthy resiliency it showed in spurts during the initial six weeks of an uneven season that sometimes was a complete disaster.

Is Porter surprised about the sudden surge?

“No. Because I look at the talent in that room and I know the talent that we have in that room and I know the potential of it,” he said. “And it was all a matter of these guys playing to their potential and us coming together as a team and you’re starting to see us coming together.

“I said it back a month ago. I said, ‘We’re going to hit our stride and we’re going to start to win a lot of these games in which we’ve been finding a way to lose.’ And now we’re starting to find a way to win those games because the guys are maturing, they’re understanding what it takes to win games and they’re really locking in to the different situations that are taking place during the course of a game.”

Winning Monday came down to Bedard’s best and longest start of the season, a fifth-inning solo home run by Chris Carter, a small-ball manufactured run in the sixth, two scoreless innings of relief and highlight-reel defense from third baseman Matt Dominguez and Barnes.

It was good baseball.

It was the Astros’ sixth consecutive win.

“We take pride in going out there every day and playing hard,” Barnes said. “We’re a young team. We’re hungry. And we just go out there and we try to grind it out and we play as hard as we can but we play smart at the same time.”

Twitter.com/ChronAstros

Photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

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June 3: Astros 2, Angels 1

Erik Bedard of the Astros delivers a pitch to the Angels.

June 3: Astros 2, Angels 1

Erik Bedard of the Astros delivers a pitch to the Angels.

Photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

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Joe Blanton of the Angels makes a pitch to the Astros.

Joe Blanton of the Angels makes a pitch to the Astros.

Photo: Reed Saxon / Associated Press

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Marwin Gonzalez of the Astros reacts after striking out against the Angels.

Marwin Gonzalez of the Astros reacts after striking out against the Angels.

Photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

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Chris Carter of the Astros is greeted by his teammates after hitting a home run during the fifth inning.

Chris Carter of the Astros is greeted by his teammates after hitting a home run during the fifth inning.

Photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

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Chris Carter of the Astros swings for a home run during the fifth inning against the Angels.

Chris Carter of the Astros swings for a home run during the fifth inning against the Angels.

Photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

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Brandon Barnes of the Astros hits a ball for a sacrifice fly, scoring Matt Dominguez.

Brandon Barnes of the Astros hits a ball for a sacrifice fly, scoring Matt Dominguez.

Photo: Reed Saxon / Associated Press

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Matt Dominguez slides safely to second base as Howie Kendrick of the Angels is late with the tag.

Matt Dominguez slides safely to second base as Howie Kendrick of the Angels is late with the tag.

Photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

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Mike Trout of the Angels hits a ball for a sacrifice fly against the Astros during the third inning.

Mike Trout of the Angels hits a ball for a sacrifice fly against the Astros during the third inning.

Photo: Reed Saxon / Associated Press

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Astros pitcher Erik Bedard delivers a throw to the Angels.

Astros pitcher Erik Bedard delivers a throw to the Angels.

Photo: Reed Saxon / Associated Press

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June 2: Astros 5, Angels 4

Carlos Pena receives high fives in the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning.

June 2: Astros 5, Angels 4

Carlos Pena receives high fives in the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning.

Photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

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Carlos Corporan is congratulated by third base coach Dave Trembley after hitting a solo home run in the first inning.

Carlos Corporan is congratulated by third base coach Dave Trembley after hitting a solo home run in the first inning.

Photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

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Trevor Crowe, right, is tagged out at home by Angels catcher Hank Conger while trying to score on a fielder's choice by Brandon Barnes during the ninth inning.

Trevor Crowe, right, is tagged out at home by Angels catcher Hank Conger while trying to score on a fielder's choice by Brandon Barnes during the ninth inning.